FF8: When Heaven Touches Hell, Part 1
by NeoMidgar
Summary: Some things stay beneath the surface for long, removed from our lives, eventually being forgotten... only to be reawakened once again. Part 1 of the WHTH saga called "The Forgotten Legacy". An epic tale that will shake the foundations of the FFVIII story!
1. Prologue: Clouds Of Mistery

Prologue

Clouds Of Mystery

Dollet…

2 years had gone by since the end of the last war of the sorceress and the sea-side city on the Galbadia continent had seen a lot of changes for such a short time. After the reconstruction effort following the Galbadian attack early in the war, the city had seen a big rise in population as more and more people saw Dollet as a better alternative to the politically volatile Deling City. As a result, new, pre-built and fast deployed houses had been arranged for and the city had become a bustling metropolis relying on naval trade with the other continents.

Yet, for one man in particular such mundane events had little to no importance…

His name no one knew, in fact, no one had even seen anyone going in or out of the luxurious apartment of Trabia Street, the place where all the rich and successful traders lived in. Obviously such place was filled with high profile individuals with connections to the smuggling business but those were not the worry of the honest people who lived there. Somehow, ever since that apartment had been bought with cash, a strange feeling of dread has settled over the surrounding houses. No one dared speak of it, but everyone felt it…

...Something awful was going on in that apartment.

The man that everyone knew for sure that was no trader could in fact pose easily as a trader, with his black blazer and tie, completed with yet another black shirt underneath. His short black hair with silver linings and slightly aged face seemed to indicate a man moving through his forties while his toned body seemed to indicate he was not quite past his prime in the physical aspect. Despite the obviously executive clothing, the man was working on a lab, filled with test tubes holding strange liquid substances. As the man saw his experiment nearing the end, excitement grew in his silverish eyes and he finally picked up the tube holding the last and most important ingredient of the mix, threw it in and then-

The explosion that rocked the lab would have killed a normal man, but to the enigmatic character it only served to annoy him to his core. Luckily the windows were blinded and the walls sound-proofed so no one would notice either the large flash at the loud noise of the explosion. Yet, from the kitchen came a dark skinned individual wearing nothing but a pair of trousers, his shaved head and muscular body doing little to hide the fact that he was a fighter in his twenties. His brown eyes were trained on the other male, showing both startling and amazement.

"Boss, are you alright?" Questioned the shirtless fighter as the "boss" got up and cleaned the dust from his suit.

"DJ, by the last time, even in this accursed place you shall call me by my rightful title, the Shadow King." The man's voice was deep and annoyed, not caring to face the other individual.

"Sorry bo.. I mean my king. So, I guess it was another failed experiment?" DJ offered the king a hand to get back on his feet. "This sample is also unusable" answered the monarch, dismissing the helping hand.

"Boss, are you sure we're even looking for the right thing? I mean it's been-"

"Are you questioning the information I gathered?" A third figure spoke from the shadows in the corner, her sweet yet piercing voice filling the room as she stepped out of the shadows to reveal herself. The heavy leather trench coat she wore would have hidden most of her forms if it was zipped, but she wore it open, partially revealing her slim feminine form, her large hips and the dark blue blouse that covered a pair of seductive breasts that being large and well formed enough to please most men, were also believably natural and graceful, unlike the plastic fakes one could find in the red light districts of Dollet.

While DJ couldn't take his eyes from bellow her neck, the Shadow King instead gazed at her face, unable to keep himself from admiring her pale and clean skin, prominent cheeks, her small delicate lips and her deep and mysterious blue eyes that could pierce a man to the soul with just a stare. Resting loosely atop her shoulders, her beautifully golden and silk-soft hair completed the picture of a woman worthy of the great emperors of old, a woman that could make princes fight bloody wars against each other just to win her heart, a woman that could very well lure the most composed man into insanity.

"So?" The woman demanded, stopping near DJ who then finally raised his eyes to meet her gaze. "No Switch, I only-"

"Thought?" The woman cut his sentence once more. "Since when do you think, you idiot? At least with your upper head that his…"

"Hey common' it's not like you-" a slap hit DJ across the face, cutting his sentence yet once again. "And it's Shadow King, not Boss you idiot."

DJ seemed ready to answer back but both were cut by the self titled Shadow King. "Switchblade, DJ! Enough small talk, to the briefing room."

The Shadow King strode past the duo, heading into a smaller room filled with antique (and expensive) furniture and paintings. It seemed like the kind of room where a rich and bored collector would store his treasures and boast about them when friends would come over. Not a second later, the other two individuals joined the older man, each one sitting on a chair while the Shadow King stood between them and his desk. "Switchblade's information was right to a degree, but it's no use trying to use lesser samples, the magics involved are just too powerful for beings of even medium capabilities. It is time we return to our original plan; we all know who possesses the power we need, even if he doesn't know it. There is no other way to open that blasted door, we need to get it out of him… we need him..."

"But my lord…" Switchblade interrupted, her legs crossed and her face inquisitive and alert "The person you speak of has gone out of the grid months ago, we don't know where he is, if he even lives…"

"We do now." The Shadow King answered, tasting every word as a grim smile formed on his lips. "Balamb Garden. Our little friend has finally surfaced in Balamb Garden. Switchblade, DJ, you know what to do, I want the subject ripe for harvest as soon as possible, use whatever means you ne-"

Only then did the king understand his subject was fast asleep. As the Shadow King's kick sent DJ flying into the wall, crashing against a piece of wooden furniture, Switchblade was sure the "idiot" would at least stay down a few hours from that kick, until he eventually woke to a lot of pain… "All the better, at least he'll keep his mouth shut" she thought.

**Author's Notes:**

**So here it is, my very first fanfic for this site, tough I have written for other sites around the web. Anyway here is the prologue just to get things started, I hope you like the three new characters I introduced as much as I'm having fun fleshing them. Their characters go much more deep than the tip of the iceberg I've shown you in this prologue... you'll see...**

**Anyway, this is a preety ambitious and epic project that I've been projecting in my head for quite some time, but always had to pospone because of other more pressing matters. Now it's time to get it done! That said, know that the thing I hate the most (when it comes to writting) is writters who leave their stories unfinished, so rest assured that the story will have an ending (actually... I already know what the ending will be like...)**

**Anyway, next (and first) chapter should be completed by the end of the week and after extensive reviewing of the material, I'm hoping to have it posted by the weekend or, in the worst case scenario, in a week. Review if you want, but remember... we're just warming up ;)**

**Neo Midgar**


	2. Chapter 1: New Beginnings, Old Habits

Chapter One

New Beginnings, Old Habits

Balamb… the position occupied by the island, midway between the continents of Galbadia and Esthar, portrayed well the general standing of the coastal town when it came to foreign policies: Neutrality. The residents of Balamb Town were happy to live a life of fishing, trading and most of all, staying away from the wars of the two world powers, as long as they left the peaceful island out of it. Peace and quiet were the most important possession for the residents of Balamb.

And then one day Cid Kramer came to the island bearing ideas of creating a Garden, a sort of academy for elite mercenaries who, upon graduation, would join the business part of the Garden, the elite mercenary unit SeeD, fighting for any paying client. While many saw this plan as a direct threat to the neutrality of the town, the prospect of leaving the boredom of Balamb for a life of adventure and action (while getting paid for it) was music to the hears of the young folk in the island. In the end, the revenue Balamb Garden would produce for the town and Cid's vow not to accept any contract that could harm the town's neutral reputation was enough to sway the governor to allow Cid to repair an old ruined structure in the East side of the island, and use it as the cornerstone of his new academy. And so Balamb Garden was born.

Now, so many years after those events, so much had changed but yet everything stayed essentially the same. Gardens had been opened in Galbadia, Trabia and more recently, Esthar. Two sorceress wars had raged across the world, with SeeD playing a decisive role in the second when their greatest team challenged and defeated the sorceress Ultimecia, ending her reign of chaos and bringing peace to the world once again.

And ironically, peace was the best time for SeeD to conduct business as there was always some merchant vessel or caravan needing protection from brigands, some monster terrorizing a village or a rich businessman in need of a bodyguard while travelling. As such, the number of students didn't decrease with the end of the war, if anything, it increased as more and more teenagers dreamed of seeing the world protecting some rich guy's belongings.

The end of the school year was drawing near, and with the written exams finished, only the field exam for the last year cadets was left to be done. For everyone else (including the last year students who failed the final written exam) there was little more to do than to relax and enjoy the last days before summer vacations when everyone got the chance to finally spend some time at home. Meanwhile, the park in the Garden entrance was a favored spot for the students to hang around and talk among themselves about the unfairness of the grades, summer plans, romantic interests and pretty much anything else.

And as most students were counting the days to be free and go home, Darion was just arriving at his new home. While there was no strict dress code for either students or cadets (except during exams), the teachers always gave extra credit to those who didn't mind donning the dark blue uniform of Garden so most students wore that instead of their casual clothes. Darion wouldn't do it even for a free pass all the way to SeeD membership, so instead he wore his blue jeans and white shirt, a pair of black heavy boots and a black jacket, light enough to be wearable in the Balamb summer heat. Some female students glanced his way, admiring his shoulder-length black hair, both well treated and well combed, his tanned skin, a common sight among last year students who spent way too much time training under the scorching sun, and his toned body that proved that the training had been taken serious.

As more and more people took notice of the newcomer, likely wondering why someone would transfer right at the end of the school year, Darion reached the front gate. The gate wasn't meant to stop any invading enemy as it could easily be jumped over, but it was meant to make sure that only Garden students and staff had access to the premises. For that, both staff and students carried a magnetic card that, once pressed against a sensor at the gate, would unlock the metallic barrier, granting access to the cardholder. A few years ago, someone had the brilliant idea of installing a protocol to lock the gate after curfew, even for cardholders, as a way to punish students who stayed outside after hours, forcing them to sleep outside. This whole operation was overseen by a lone security guard who had the duty of making sure no one would try to trick the sensor into allowing strangers in, and barring the way for students who returned to the Garden drunk, receiving the same kind of punishment as if they arrived after curfew.

As Darion pressed his card against the sensor next to the gate, it answered him with a loud beep and a flashing red sign, indicating that the card wasn't accepted. After trying again and receiving the same answer, the speaker right under the sensor came to life "Son, what seems to be the problem?"

Looking over to the security cabin, Darion noticed the guard using the microphone to talk to him, that way avoiding the need to leave the cabin and talk to him face to face. "Hey old man, the sensor's not letting me in!" Darion answered, looking at the cabin rather than the sensor.

"Yeah well, that sensor has the nasty habit of leaving disrespectful people to sleep outside. Now, I never saw you around here, are you sure you're a Garden student? You do look like a flower boy, but that's not what they teach you here son."

"Ah ah very funny old man" Darion had heard that joke a million times, everyone in every Garden had heard it one way or another. "Look, I just got transferred from Galbadia, that would explain why you haven't seen me."

"Oh right! The new kid from Galbadia. Lemme take a look at that card of yours son"

With that, the old guard left his cabin and went to where Darion stood, stopping on the other side of the gate and signaling the youngster to give him the card, which Darion did.

"Oh oh! If it isn't Mr. Darion Melnikov!" The guard suddenly turned from bored to amused. "I've heard about you son, and if you think you're here to cause the same kind of trouble you put up in Galbadia, then let me warn you that we here have rules and-"

"Yeah yeah, old man. Just let me in will ya?" Darion cut the guard's threat and with a gruff, the old man pressed his own card against the sensor, opening the gate and granting Darion passage. As Darion crossed the gate he glanced at the guard and spared a not-so-sincere smile as the man turned around and headed back to his comfortable cabin.

And then, a completely different world stood before Darion.

Even though the school year was at the end, the inside of the Garden was busy as always, with students happily chatting like those outside, students heading towards the library or trainings grounds in order to practice either their intellectual or physical skills, SeeD's going about their business, the usual reckless student who got injured in training and was being taken to the infirmary… Darion finally felt like home.

Yet, this was a much different home from his previous one and thus he decided not to venture forth until he got at least a small tour around the main areas. As a class or para-magicians got off the elevator while another class, this one of infantry, waited to get in, Darion spotted a SeeD instructor waving the students goodbye. Deciding her friendly, even childish face could indicate that she would be nice enough to accept his request for a tour (a request he himself would turn down if he was the one asked), Darion moved towards her and tapped her on the shoulder, making her turn around.

"Hmm hello"

"Oh hi there!" The girl, likely older than Darion but yet smaller than him, greeted him with a warm and sincere smile.

"Hey, I'm new here and I was wondering-"

"You need a tour around the Garden right? This place is so huge… everyone gets lost on their first week here."

"Right, I guess…"

"Well, I have an hour free until my next class so I guess I can show you around. By the way, my name is Selphie, what's yours?"

"Darion, Darion Melnikov."

"Nice to meet you Darion. Let's go then, we have a lot to see. This way!"

Selphie proceeded to show Darion all there was to see in the Garden, from the training grounds to the parking lot, infirmary to the dorms area, she took no shortcut and shown no hint that she wanted to make the tour as short as possible. She even seemed to be enjoying it.

"And this is the cafeteria, where we eat our meals and huh…"  
"I got it."

"Oh great! You're a fast learner Darion, good! Hey by the way, are you hungry?"

Thinking back to the small sandwich he had at the Balamb docks before catching a bus to the Garden, Darion could answer nothing else but "Actually, I could eat."

If such thing was possible, Selphie's ever-present smile seemed to become even wider as she raised her arms upwards in pure joy and yelled "Great!", startling both Darion and a few other people walking around. As Selphie entered the cafeteria, Darion had to question herself what kind of drugs this SeeD was taking, before following her inside.

If the Garden's main hall had seemed busy, the cafeteria was surely packed. Not a single table was empty and many people were eating while standing. Fate would have it that as soon as Selphie entered the cafeteria, a group of students vacated a table. Before anyone could even take notice of the empty table, Selphie quickly took hold of it, pissing off another group of students who still chose not to say anything, knowing all too well that she was her superior by rank. With that, Selphie gestured Darion to sit at her table, and so he did.

At Selphie's recommendation, Darion ordered one of the famous Balamb hotdogs, and Selphie ordered one for herself. As they waited for the food, Selphie proceeded to start talking again.

"So Darion, why's a Garden student moving here so close to the end of the school year?"

"I got transferred from Galbadia, I'm here for the field exam." Darion answered, now feeling his belly demanding food.

"Oh, a cadet! Almost there huh? But wait, last time I checked they did exams in Galbadia, don't they?"

"Yeah, they do. It's just that… I had other reasons to ask for the transfer"

"Ohhh lemme guess! Squall Leonhart! It's every student's dream to fight alongside the commander right?"

"No, that's really not it. I'm sorry; I don't want to talk about that."

"Oh it's alright Darion, I'm sure it's a good reason. But actually you may even be in luck as I heard they're planning something really unique for this year's exam. I'm actually a little sad that I wasn't asked to oversee the exam this year. But my own exam two years ago was really cool!"

As the hotdogs came, Selphie proceeded to tell Darion of his field exam in Dollet, of how she met a still undergraduate Squall and how they joined forces to fight the Galbadia forces at the satellite tower , only to be attacked by a giant monster, beating it and then been chased away by a huge robot war spider. Finally, after some more narration, the enthusiastic SeeD looked at her clock.

"Bummer! I have to go now, duty calls. You take care Darion, good luck for the exam!"

Waving him goodbye, Selphie got up and proceeded towards the exit, still eating her hotdog and leaving Darion to debate with himself if she was taking speed drugs or just high quantities of happy pills.

Finally left alone to his thoughts, Darion gave his current situation a quick glance and noticed how much his life had changed. In Galbadia he was popular and had pretty much anything he wanted, but now, in Balamb, he was but a face in a crowd and had only himself to rely on. As Darion was in the process of questioning himself on how long it should take to the surprise field exam, a question he could never answer anyway since it was secret, his thoughts were interrupted by a woman's voice.

"Can I sit here?"

Getting back from his thoughts, Darion looked up to notice another female SeeD standing next to the empty chair on the other side of the table, this one looking much more mature and down to earth than Selphie, even if the two women were probably the same age. Darion couldn't avoid noticing how stunningly beautiful she was, with her slim delicate body, her long black hair and her joyful but serene face, she looked really-

"So? Can I?"

Realizing he had stared at her a few seconds more than he should, Darion got up in a single movement "Sorry, yes yes, of course you may ma'm!".

As the woman finally sat in the same chair Selphie used just a few minutes ago, she motioned Darion to sit as well "It's quite alright, I did notice you were deep in thought and I'm sorry I had to disturb you, but this place is packed as usual and I really don't like to eat standing…"

"Right, I can understand that."

As the waitress came to take the woman's order, Darion noticed that her uniform had the "honorary member" insignia on it, meaning she never studied at Garden nor did any of the exams, but instead had accomplished a great achievement and had being invited to join SeeD for it. Such cases were extremely rare and Darion could only wonder what the woman had done.

"I see you're carrying luggage" The woman pointed as the waitress went to another table "and since I never seen you around I assume you just got transferred, right?"

Despite wondering how the woman was so sure she simply never noticed Darion in the middle of the thousands of people in the Garden, he had to admit she was correct. "Yeah, just came from Galbadia Garden."

"Galbadia? Really? Where did you use to live?"

"Deling City, I lived there all my life till I joined Garden."

"Oh, I lived there when I was younger too, until I moved to Timber. By the way, my name is Rinoa Heartilly, SeeD and students counselor around here, so come see me if you have any problem with classes, friends, girls or anything ok? And your name is?"

"Darion, Darion Melnikov. Garden cadet and hopefully soon-to-be SeeD."

Darion wasn't usually much of a talker but even as he finished his hotdog and Rinoa's fish salad came, the conversation kept flowing as they spoke about good old Deling, the differences between Galbadia and Balamb Garden, and pretty much anything in-between. Rinoa seemed like a lovely and caring person but even as Darion answered her questions and laughed at her stories of getting lost in Delling by catching the wrong bus, Darion could swore he heard that name before, he just couldn't place it…

Then, like an answer coming out of his brain and taking form before him, a man approached their table, immediately catching Rinoa's attention, and tough she greeted the man by his name, Darion didn't need to glance twice at the individual to know who he was, as before him stood the greatest living legend of everything SeeD…

"Oh, hi Squall, how are you honey?"

"If anything can bring a man's mood down, it's a two hours meeting with Cid, Quistis and Xu about the Garden's financial situation, but it's good to see you Rinoa."

As the two shared a romantic kiss, Darion was mentally kicking himself for taking so long to make the connection. Rinoa Heatilly was the mate of Squall Leonhart, daughter of the galbadian general Caraway and one of the six heroes of the last sorceress war, a feat that obviously got her the honorary admission to SeeD. While Darion chose to look away from the scene, he could see that many others in the cafeteria were actually looking at the couple, making the cadet feel a little too exposed and wishing he was in a table of his own.

After the couple separated lips, Darion noticed how Squall gave him a quick glance, only to turn right back to Rinoa. That small glance was all he needed to know that Squall wished him to go away, and he knew better than to get on the commander's black list in his first day in Balamb.

"Well huh, I really need to find my dorm room so…"

Looking away from Squall, Rinoa stopped Darion just as he was about to get up "Wait wait, Darion let me introduce you to the SeeD commander in Balamb, Squall Leonhart."

Just as Darion was about to get up and salute the commander, Squall turned to Darion as if Rinoa said something completely out of the ordinary. "Wait, are you Darion Melnikov?"

Not expecting the commander to know his name, Darion nodded positively before actually answering with a "Yes sir."

"You should be in Quistis's office, she thinks you're missing."

"Me? Why?"

"Don't know and don't care. Follow me, I'll take you there." Turning to Rinoa, Squall put his hand on her shoulder and gave her a small smile as she turned to him again. "Don't go anywhere, I'll be right back."

As Squall started walking out of the cafeteria, Darion had to pick up his bags in a hurry (of course, the commander didn't bother to offer the cadet any help in transporting those) and struggle to keep up with the living legend who walked light and fast. When the two entered the elevator, Darion got to put his bags down and decided to try making conversation as the elevator started to go up.

"By the way, it's really nice to meet you. It's not every day you get to know a living legend like yourself."

"Yeah huh… whatever." Squall's bored tone clearly indicated he wasn't one bit interested in talking to Darion, but still the cadet decided to try again.

"I've heard you use a gunblade made of pure adamantine, is it true?"

"Will you just shut up!?" Squall threw back at Darion, not with boredom but with pure annoyance, making him shut up and curse his big mouth.

As the elevator reached the 3rd floor, Darion didn't take long to notice how expensive the decoration for the administrative floor was. In fact, even Darion who usually didn't care about making things pretty had to admit that so far the fresh, spaced and colorful decoration of Balamb Garden was much more pleasant than the dull, military-ish design of Galbadia Garden. Still, this 3rd floor was much different from the ground floor, with carpets on the floor, wooden fake walls covering the real walls made of steel like the rest of the Garden, paintings depicting ancient battles and statues of heroes of old giving the whole place a vintage feel.

Darion didn't have much time to appreciate the decoration tough, as Squall quickly headed to one of the central offices, knocking at the door and opening at once. Darion, already tired of carrying his bags, couldn't do much more than following the commander inside, cursing himself for not having the foresight to drop his bags in his dorm before anything else. As he crossed the beautiful wooden door he was greeted by a blonde female SeeD who seemed even more pissed at Darion than Squall back at the elevator.

"YOU!" The SeeD, Quistis as Squall had called her, shouted as she laid eyes on Darion.

"Hi…"

"Shut up! I already had people looking for you both here and in the woods, just in case you were eaten by a monster! Squall, where did you find him?"

"In the cafeteria with Rinoa…"

"Oh so first thing mister playboy here does when he gets to Balamb is checking out the ladies huh? Melnikov, your reputation precedes you so don't even think to cross the line or I'll kick you out myself!"

As Squall crossed his arms in obvious discontent about someone "checking out" his girlfriend, Darion decided to try to explain to the angry instructor.

"Look, I had no idea I was to report to you as soon as I got here, and it was Rinoa who asked if she could use my table, I had nothing to do with it.

Both Squall and Quistis didn't appreciate the answer, but it was the blonde female who once again took the lead. "First, Miss Heartilly is your superior by far and you'll treat her with all respect. Second, reporting to me as soon as you arrived was in your directives for the transfer. If you didn't read them, it's your own fault. Now, get out of my sight and go rest. And I said rest! Your field exam is tomorrow, the announcement will be made in an hour.

"Tomorrow? Come on, I just got here!" As soon as the words left Darion's mouth he already regretted them

"Melnikov, I'm warning you, don't test my patience… I could remove you from the exam for failing to report to me today, but I'm giving you another chance, be smart and don't screw it!"

Knowing that he wasn't going to gain anything by saying anything else, Darion gave a much forced and dull salute (that none of the SeeDs bored to reply to) and turned to the door, leaving the office and heading for the dorms area.

**Author's Comments:**

**I do have a reputation for being late most of the time, but not this time. The nest update got released right when I said it would. Anyway, the first chapter of this story begins with alot of exposition and descriptions, but alas, one has to set up the foundations before actually building the house. Expect more action and mystery to happen in the next chapters.**

**Yes, Darion Melnikov will be the main character for this part as most events will be seen through his POV. But don't think everyone else will have supporting character treatment. I'm planning lots of developments for most characters.**

**Oh and in case that wasn't made clear, Squall really doesn't like Darion...**

**Comment if you feel like it, I'd like to hear your thoughts. Cya on the next chapter! (probably not this week but the next)**

**JadeAlmasy: Thank you for my first review! Hope you like the next chapter ;)**


	3. Chapter 2:The Dream Of The Killer Beauty

Chapter II

The Dream Of The Killer Beauty

If there was one thing Zell didn't like, it was going to the administrative floor.

Although he knew and was friends with most of the Garden administrative staff, especially Quistis and Squall, going to the third floor after being summoned by Cid usually meant work for Zell, and of the boring kind.

After being branded a hero following the end of the last Sorceress War, Zell Dincht had been offered all sorts of prestigious positions inside the Seed hierarchy, at one point being even offered the position of commander at Galbadia Garden. But for the most part, Zell had been happy to decline most offers, preferring to remain among the active fighting force of SeeD and overseeing the martial arts department of Balamb (a position that actually made him work somewhat, but with so many students choosing the gunblade and rifle, Zell considered his duty to keep the brawler tradition in the SeeD alive). Only Squall had been able to offer Zell a position he could enjoy (although most assume it was Quistis's idea). The commander had offered him the position of lieutenant, Squall's second in command in all things military, and considering Zell would have little administrative paperwork as long as Squall was alive (and no one expected the commander to go anywhere for a long time), that was a position Zell had no problem accepting.

But even still, once in a while Cid summoned him to his office and Zell knew that could only mean boring, administrative work. If Zell was being sent on a mission, he would be briefed by either Squall or Quisits, while talking to Cid on official matters usually meant disusing academic programs, money expenses or even worse, a new job opportunity that would make him break his "no paperwork" rule.

As Zell knocked at Cid's wooden and highly decorated door, the brawler only prayed the student he knocked unconscious by accident during class hadn't decided to press charges.

Following the knock, Cid's polite and professional voice invited Zell to come in, which he did, opening the door and entering the biggest office in Balamb Garden, obviously reserved to the man who had created the academy in the first place. The fake walls, made of the same high grade wood as the rest of the floor were decorated with various souvenirs from every corner of the world, echoing how long Cid had travelled far and wide searching for sponsors interested in his Garden project. Various photos also stood atop tables and drawers by the side. Cid was in all of these photos, smiling alongside many political leaders, other Garden headmasters both past and present, elite SeeDs… it just went to prove how far Cid's connections went and Zell knew the headmaster was more than happy to show them to any possible client he met in his office.

To Zell's relief, his comrades from the Sorceress War, Squall and Quistis, were also in Cid's office. Surely the two of them wouldn't be there just because a student pressed charges against Zell. That could only mean something bigger was going to happen, and Zell liked bigger as it meant action for him.

"Welcome Zell, we've been expecting you." Cid started, Squall frowned, indicating that they had indeed been waiting, and not for a short time. Zell was going to apologise for the tardiness but Cid proceeded to the matter at hand, obviously uninterested in Zell's (usually fancy) excuses. "I've summoned you all here to discuss this year's SeeD field exam."

"_Of course… The SeeD exam. They must want me to oversee the exam this year…" _Zell thought, as much as going to the battlefield thrilled Zell, overseeing others do is job wasn't quite as appealing , but it still beat paperwork anyday.

"This year we're having something special" Cid continued, managing to regain the attention of Zell who was starting to drift into his thoughts. "As you all know, Esthar Garden hasn't been around for long but this year the first students finished the course and are ready to take on the field exam."

Zell reminded himself of Esthar Garden. He had been there only once but the picture would be stuck in his head even if he never saw it again. Esthar city was huge, too huge to be believable without actually seeing it, but the Garden built at the edge of the city was nothing but colossal with its huge octagonal shape, the four majestic towers-

"Zell, are you listening?" The voice was Quistis's who was staring at Zell as he noticed that again, he had drifted into thought and quickly apologized to Cid. Sighing, the headmaster proceeded. "As I was saying, E-Garden still doesn't have enough of a SeeD organization to successfully plan a field exam, and thus their headmaster asked us to incorporate their cadets into our exam."

"How many cadets?" The question came from Squall, speaking for the first time since the meeting begun.

"That's the bad part. The maximum number of cadets in each year's field exam is 50 in Balamb. But as we all know Esthar has a much bigger Garden and thus a bigger cap. They selected the 150 best cadets to try the exam, and that's the number of people arriving at 0500 tomorrow."

The number made everyone in the room grasp, even Squall who was not easily impressed had to blink twice before the information was processed. But it was Quistis who first raised her concerns. "Sir, what are we going to do with 200 cadets? Siege Deling?"

"Sarcasm doesn't suit you Quistis, but your concern is understandable." Cid smiled at the lead instructor. "Our employees for this mission will be both the government of Galbadia and Esthar as it seems a group of corsairs called Sherkol's Raiders has taken residence in the barren shores of the southern continent of Centra and are raiding passing merchant ships. Now, while they are a sizable force, the scouting parties I sent tell us that they don't have any serious firepower, so for the most part, our cadets should be in no serious danger. It's the perfect opportunity to test such a high number of cadets in reasonable security conditions."

"And how will the transportation be made?" Squall asked, seemingly more interested now than when the meeting first begun.

"Your father, president Loire, will lend us four battleships for the duration of the operation. They will arrive carrying the Estharian cadets tomorrow."

"Sir, considering we're the only ones here, I take it that Squall, me and Zell are the ones overseeing the exam?" Quistis asked, polite as ever, although she seemed more nervous about the news than everyone else.

"Of course" Cid smiled to the trio. "This will be a groundbreaking operation and for that, I want nothing but the best leading. You will be joined by commander Brent from E-Garden in the morning and the cadets will be divided in 4 groups, each one of you leading a group. Squall will be in charge of the whole operation. Any more questions?"

The three SeeD remained silent and Cid concluded the meeting. As Zell saluted and headed back towards the door, half of him was thrilled at the prospect of such a groundbreaking assignment while the other half was cursing his luck for having to evaluate 50 students by himself_." So much for the "No paperwork" rule."_ He thought as he pressed the elevator call button.

If Cid, Zell and even Squall had been ok with the plan for tomorrow's field exam, Quisitis couldn't shake the bad feeling she had about it. Even as she admitted to herself that she had no better solution considering the number of Estharian cadets, and that the mission should in fact be safe enough to test them, the uneasiness followed her all the way to the top floor of the dorm area where the luxurious rooms for the elite SeeD were located. With a smile and a waving hand she had wished her fellow partners from the war a good night, but as they turned to their respective rooms, she headed back to the elevator and left the dorm area to the only facility opened after the already imposed curfew: the training center.

Sleeping and resting would be much more useful to Quistis than training, considering that she was one of the greatest fighters in the world, one of the six that defeated Ultimecia two years ago. But she could not sleep, so instead she decided to take her frustration and tension on the helpless monsters who roamed the center. the plant creatures were greatly outmatched as Quistis cut them to shreds with her whip, slashing left and right with ease. After a while and dozens of the monsters covering the floor, Quistis was charged by a T-Rex, rolling at the last moment. The T-Rex was the dread of all students in Garden, especially those who didn't pay attention in class and didn't know the T-Rex could be easily put to sleep with a sleep spell, leaving the great lizard open for attack. Still, Quistis decided to face the mighty beast face to face, his jaw against her whip. Her skill outmatched the beast's power so victory was certain, but the fight would give her the rush she needed to get her mind out of her worries.

She assumed her battle stance and waited for the beast to attack. In response, the T-Rex unleashed a terrifying roar and lunged at her, its huge maw ready to deliver a mortal bite to the imprudent human. Quistis stood her ground, ready to dodge at the last second when suddenly, her world went white.

And then she heard a slash.

As Qusitis managed to see her surroundings once again, she could do no less than to stand in sheer amazement as the mighty T-Rex fell to the side, dead. Quistis immediately noticed what killed the creature as the huge slashing wound that run through the beast's stomach and ribcage was hard to miss, it's hide, thick as steel, was torn like a piece of paper. Quistis knew well enough that no one in Garden was able to do that.

"I believe that one will not bother us anymore."

Quistis, startled by the unannounced voice, turned around to meet another woman, blonde and of the same height as her, the stranger wore a trench coat despite the hot temperature and in her hand she carried a mighty broadsword whose blade, although stained with the blood of the T-Rex, seemed to radiate with an emerald glow. Taking a closer look at the strange weapon, Quistis noticed that somehow the blood dripping from the blade seemed hot… too hot for the body temperature of the slain T-Rex. Somehow the contact with the blade made the blood so hot it was… boiling.

"Who…. Are you?" Was all Quistis managed to say to the strange figure.

"A fine question" the woman replied in a relaxed and confident tone "but at this particular juncture the answer is of no importance."

With that, she took one step towards Quistis who immediately snapped out of her amazement. "Wait right there! You don't belong here do you?"

"It has been a long time since I belonged anywhere." The woman took another step towards Quistis, giving her a defying look.

"You are in a restricted area and I'll have to ask you to leave. If you don't comply, I'll use force." Quistis threatened, assuming her battle stance.

As if moved by Quistis warning, the woman stopped. She was in range of Quistis's whip and she intended to strike her down should the woman raised her sword even an inch. But she did not, instead she smiled at Quistis."I'd love to see that."

Quistis needed no more incentive. Fast as lightning she raised her whip and swung it at the mysterious female, ready to slash her into two. Her target didn't move, didn't even raise her sword to block the strike, the spike at the end of the whip would hit her straight in the face.

And then it stopped.

To Quistis amazement, her whip stood frozen in mid-air, the tip hovering an inch from her opponent's face. As Quistis tried to pull it back she noticed her own muscles were also frozen in place, solid as stone. She was paralysed and so seemed everything else.

"Easy mortal, I have no time to toy with you. My mission is to retrieve the information my master desires. But as you crossed my path, I have no choice but to kill you."

With that, the woman produced a highly ornamented handgun from her trench coat, raising it towards Quistis's chest. "By the way, it's a bad idea to go to Centra."

And then she fired.

Suddenly Quistis was somewhere else…safe… in a bed. Quickly she turned the lights on to discover she was in her room at the top floor of the dorm area. As Quistis reached for her chest in search for the bullet wound she noticed she was wearing her night dress, her usual uniform folded atop a chair, ready to be wore tomorrow. Searching for the bullet wound, she found nothing but the old scars years of missions and fights had given her.

"_Was it all a dream? It was so real… I'm not hurt so it can't be real…" _as Quistis resigned herself to lie down and try to sleep, her mind was racing. _"What if it was a warning?"_

There would be little sleeping for the instructor that night.

**Author's Comments:**

**Ok, this chapter took longer than I wanted it to take. I blame school work... you know, college boys don't have it easy. I'll try to be faster on the next one, but I think it'll be a big one, and**** with the exams drawing near, I can't promise much.**

**If the last two chapters (including the prologue) were meant to introduce our new characters, in this chapter we set in motion the plot device that will bring the story foward for the next chapters. I know in the last chapter's comments I promised mystery and action and while I'm sure the mystery you all saw, the action was lacking, but expect that in the next chapter.**

**For me it's a joy to write about Switchblade. Her character is possibly the richest in the entire story and her backstory (to be revealed as we go) is extremely deep. I hope you like her (along with all the other wonderful characters of course :P)**

**Esthar Garden will play a major role in future events to come. I know I was vague about it, but expect more information and backstory about it was we go.**

**Sorry Irivine fans, but I don't think everyone's favorite gunslinger will be making his debut in the next chapter. but fear not, I haven't forgotten about him... or Seifer for that matter ;)**

**So anyway, it would be awesome if you could take some time to comment and tell me what you think. Take care and see ya on the next chapter, it's about to get hot!**

**JadeAlmasy: Again, thank you so much for your comment. I'm relieved you didn't find the backstories and descriptions boring. I was alittle worried about that. Hope you like this chapter too :)**


	4. Chapter 3: Jungle Fever

Chapter 3

Jungle Fever

Safe Haven… That's what, in his mind, Squall liked to call his room at the top floor of the Garden's dorm area. Surely he would never use the term while speaking out loud as he didn't want the Garden community to think the commander had gone mad or even worse, soft. But for the boy who grew in an orphanage and had only known the meaning of home in the overcrowded Garden, having his own large and fully furnished room was a commodity he had taken a while to get used to. At first, he didn't feel one bit interested in the decorations of his new living quarters, more than happy as long as he had one bed to sleep in and a closet for his clothes. But now that he could see the end result, he was glad to have allowed it.

The room, once empty, cold and seemingly too large, was now beautifully decorated in a modern, seaside style, borrowing ideas from Balamb Town itself. The bed had been placed close to the large window instead of the middle of the room, giving Squall a fantastic view of the shore even when lying down. In front of the bed was a beautiful desk made of light colored wood and kept tidy, with all the various documents properly stored and sorted in drawers which, considering Squall's previous desk had a huge pile of documents atop of it, were a huge improvement. Shelves with various books were also placed against the white walls, with a cozy and comfortable sofa for whoever wished to read a book or just relax for a while. A computer with access to the Garden's network had also been installed and his own weapon, the mighty adamantium Lionheart, served as a decorative object when its owner wasn't wielding it in battle or class as the gunblade case had been switched for a support mounted on the wall that allowed everyone inside the room to take a look at the beautiful weapon. Squall had at first disliked the idea, considering it degrading to use such a weapon as decoration, but Rinoa had made a point when she stated it was more degrading to keep the gunblade in the closet while the commander wasn't fighting.

"Rinoa…" Looking to his side, Squall could make out the silhouette belonging to his beloved mate, dimly illuminated by the moonlight as the window wasn't blinded since they both enjoyed waking with sunrise. But at such late hour his sweetheart was sleeping tight, resting in an embryo position while grabbing her pillow, almost like a child. Squall couldn't help but smile at how sweet she looked when asleep and proceeded to run his fingers gently and carefully through her hair. If Squall could enjoy that beautiful room, it was because Rinoa had put herself through the trouble of decorating it. He had always felt bad that she had to do it alone, but considered it was probably for the best as any input from his part would probably decrease the quality of the final product since he doubted he had any talent for decoration. So instead, he expressed his gratitude by enjoying Rinoa's work the best he could.

And gratitude towards Rinoa he had aplenty, for the energetic brunette had done for him so much more than to simply decorate their room. They had been dating for two years now, and those had been by far the best years of his life. She had taught him to be more receptive to other people, to cooperate more and be more social, and tough the commander still found himself going back to his old ways from time to time, he had eventually become a much better leader. But not only that, Rinoa had given him the love and affection he had been missing out for so long. Never would the lone wolf SeeD believe one day he would find himself writing a poem on a Valentine's Day card or planning a candlelight dinner at the Garden's ballroom to celebrate their anniversary, but now he did, and he felt happy about it. Outside that room, Squall was the confident and tough commander of SeeD Special Forces, but inside that large but comparatively small room, with Rinoa by his side, inside his Safe Haven, Squall was a completely different person.

Rinoa inhaled soundly and moved her body, prompting Squall to remove his hand from her hair for fear of waking her, but his girlfriend was already opening her eyes and yawning "Squall dear, you know I think it's cute you stare at me like that, but shouldn't you be asleep?"

"I'm sorry for waking you my love. Please go back to sleep" Squall replied, speaking softly like a whisper.

Rinoa grinned slightly, "I'm not the one who has an exam to oversee in the morning, I can sleep till midday if I feel like it my dear" her tone amused and sarcastic.

"Are you trying to make me jealous Miss Heatilly?" Squall answered, now using the same amused tone, a smile forming on his lips. "Maybe I am, Mr. Leonhart." Rinoa moved closer to Squall, their noses almost touching. Squall could see the glare in her eyes, the beauty on her face completely intact even though she wore no makeup in bed "Then you'll have to be punished, for it is forbidden to make the SeeD commander jealous." Squall drew an even bigger smile across his face, now showing his white teeth, "And what's my punishment sir?" Rinoa said, smiling in her charming way. As if on cue, Squall placed his arm across her back and pushed her towards him, closing the little distance that separated their bodies and kissing Rinoa romantically. As their lips separated, Rinoa proceeded to embrace Squall and whisper into his ear "If that's punishment, I'll have to be a bag girl more often."

As Rinoa pressed her lips against Squall's, tightening her embrace, Squall wished he could send someone else in his place to that field exam, so he could stay there till midday.

_The next morning…_

"_Instructor Quistis Trepe, please report to the main gate ASAP."_

Startled, Quistis woke up and almost fainted from the shock as she glanced at the clock. For the first time in her entire career, she had overslept, and on such an important day no less! "What kind of example are you giving Quistis?!" Quick as lightning, the instructor changed into the SeeD uniform folded atop a chair, run her fingers through her hair and restrained it with the usual hairpins. In less than 5 minutes she was exiting her room and rushing to the elevator in a hurry.

Arriving to the main gate without a glance at anything on her way, Quistis was greeted by a crowd of cadets in their dark blue uniforms, Squall, Zell, Xu and a grizzly man Quistis recognized as Commander Brent already sorting the cadets into groups. As Quistis approached her fellow SeeD instructors, Zell was the first to notice her.

"Next time I'm late for a meeting, remind yourself of this day before yelling ok?"

"Quistis, is everything ok? I was about to go to your room to see if anything was wrong."

"I'm ok Xu, just had a rough night. Have you been covering for me?"

"Yeah" Xu replied, drawing a friendly smile "I figured something like that happened and knew you wouldn't want to delay the whole operation because of it."

Quistis eyed the floor, thinking about her strange dream, for a minute considering telling the others, but quickly realizing they would never take it serious when she herself wasn't sure of its importance.

"Quistis are you sure you're ok?" This time it was Squall who approached the blonde, eyeing her as if trying to decide whether or not to remove her from the operation.

"I'm fine." She said quickly. "Girls stuff, you wouldn't understand. Xu, sorry for all the trouble, I'll take it from here."

"Ok Quistis, take care of yourself, I'll see you later." With that, Xu turned her back on the 3 instructors and proceeded towards the front gate. Quistis immediately resumed the assembling of her group, not saying another word to Zell and Squall.

When Zell was sure Quistis was too far to listen he turned to Squall who was about to resume his own work as well. "Quistis being delayed by _girls stuff_? That's a new one…" he crossed his arms, as If suspecting something.

"It's likely a lie." Squall said calmly "nothing health related can keep Quistis from being punctual but being on her deathbed."

"So, what do you think it is Squall?"

"I think you should give Quistis her privacy. Your groups isn't fully assembled yet, go sort those cadets out."

Saluting, even though such formalities were not strictly needed between the two friends, Zell raised the sheet where the names of his 50 cadets were written. Most of the names were already crossed; meaning the cadet in question was already accounted for. Zell was about to start shouting the names of those missing when he was approached by a cadet.

"Lieutenant Zell Dincht I presume?"

"Yep, that's me. Do you have your group already, cadet?"

"I believe I'm with you sir, name's Melnikov, Darion."

"Melnikov huh? Oh yeah, there you are, right at the bottom of the list! Oh you're the Galbadia student I was told to watch out for."  
Darion frowned "Oh, I wonder why…"  
Zell laughed easily and patted the younger cadet on the shoulder "Hey, I won't screw you on the evaluation based on stuff that happened in Galbadia. Just follow orders and don't do anything stupid, that way we won't have any trouble. Now, get on the bus beside me. It'll take you to Balamb docks where the battlecruisers are docked. You are to board number 3.

Darion saluted his overseer for the exam and proceeded towards the bus. Tough they had only a brief chat, he liked Zell. At least he was easygoing, unlike Squall. As he entered the bus and sat at the back, next to a window, he silently thanked that he didn't end up in the commander's group as he had a feeling he would have been failed for the slightest mistake. Now, somewhat anxious but still relaxed enough to remain cool, Darion was about to review his spells when a girl, another cadet, interrupted him.

"Is this seat taken?"

Feeling the déjà vu from yesterday, Darion signaled the girl to sit down. She was pretty, not drop dead gorgeous, but fairly attractive. A brunette with a gentle pale face and youthful light brown eyes, her long hair was tied in a ponytail as was common practice when long-haired soldiers went to battle. Darion disliked such practice, preferring to keep his own shoulder-length hair loose even as weapons were drawn and fighting would commence. His instructors back in Galbadia had been shocked by his stubbornness in refusing such a standard procedure, stating that in battle his hair would often cover his eyes, resulting in a decrease of visibility by 30%. Darion had proved such statistics meaningless by finishing the Garden course top of his class, even with the so called "hair blindness".

For the girl who sat beside him tough, such questions probably meant nothing and Darion decided there was no need to bring it up, choosing instead to relax for a few minutes as the bus's engine roared to life and started moving forward. But even as he closed his eyes and tried to numb his own senses for better relaxation, he knew the girl beside him was dying to say something, and that it had to do with the fact that she shaking. Knowing he would have no rest until their seats would stop vibrating, Darion inhaled and did his best to put on a caring and gentle look on his face.

"What's going on?" eyeing the girl, Darion could see that she was visibly scared, maybe even about to cry.

"It's just… my first time" She replied, trying to hide the fear in her voice but clearly failing at it.

" It's everyone's first time, remember?" Darion tried his best to sound reassuring and tough he knew there were students who were trying the exam for the second time, he did not go into such depth.

"I know, it's just… I don't know if I have what it takes to kill another human being… I'm afraid to freeze when the time comes."

Darion gave himself a few seconds to digest the idea. He had thought about it himself, if he would be capable of ending a human life, but he had managed to keep himself for dwelling too much into such thoughts. "If, during the mission, you find yourself unable to do it, just think about the lives you'll save by ending that one. These corsairs have been raiding ships for months, killing their crews in the process. Men and women who had family and friends elsewhere, and did nothing wrong besides being at the wrong place at the wrong time."

Now it was the girl's turn to take a few seconds to process Darion's words, when she was done, she nodded positively, drawing a sincere smile. "You're right, even if it's killing, it serves a greater good. Thank you eh…" she said, clearly wishing to know her supporter's name.

"Darion." He said, forcing another smile even as the gentleness he had forced upon himself gradually faded away, since his goal had been achived.

"Pleased to meet you Darion, I'm Linda. Are you one of the cadets from Esthar?"

"No, I was just transferred to Balamb from Galbadia, it's too long a story for such a short trip.

In fact, they were already crossing Balalmb's entrance gate. Some residents had ceased their activities to watch the cadets, but most didn't bother to glance, probably tired of having SeeD and students alike coming and going in and out of town all the time, disturbing their so praised peace. The busses quickly crossed the small town, arriving at the docs and coming to a stop near the entrance. As the 200 cadets exited the vehicles, Darion noticed the four overseers were already there, even though they were still in the Garden when he left. How they got there so fast Darion had no idea, tough they likely had taken a vehicle of their own, faster than the heavy and slow busses.

There was no time for such questions tough. Even as Darion stepped from the bus and got to feel the maritime breeze on his face, the four SeeD started shouting orders to their respective groups. While the four tried their best to be heard by everyone under their command, the deep baritone voice of Commander Brent from Esthar Graden easily drowned any other noise. Darion spared a quick glance at the commander. He was an imposing man to say the least, standing a head taller than commander Leonhart who was himself fairly tall. Brent was obviously a bodybuilder, showing so much muscle that the commander could likely crush another human being with just a hug. As if trying to look even more menacing, his arms bore several tattoos and his head was shaven. Darion again felt thankful for being in Zell's group and not Brent's since he was pushing his group twice as hard as even Quistis who wouldn't stop barking orders left and right. In fact, Darion noted that it was easy to separate the Balamb and Estharian cadets in Brent's group. Those from Balamb were awestruck for not being accustomed with the commander, while the Estharians instead showed genuine fear and respect.

Removing his weapon case from the bus's trunk, Darion raced to the battleship. He was in the back of the group, as most cadets were already embarking, but still he allowed himself to glance at the battleships moored at the harbor. The four ships where larger than the usual SeeD sea transportation , tough not of the larger class as they would be too easy to spot, instead they were medium size, easily accommodating the crew and the fifty passengers for the mission. Being Estharian also meant looking weird and futuristic and on that part the ships did not disappoint, looking unlike anything Darion had ever seen. The ships had a star shape, looking like mechanical giant turtles with the "head" serving as an embark platform and the four "legs" having gun turrets mounted on them. A rear large door was also placed for quick deployment of the troops inside. Darion approached the narrow entrance and noticed Zell who stood next to the door waiting for everyone to board and shouting "proceed to the bottom of the ship!" Zell also noticed Darion in the middle of the group and gave in a slight nod which the cadet replied equally before entering the ship.

As Darion reached the bottom level, the top level being manned by gunners and crew, Darion found most students chatting as relaxed as they could. The Estharian students took great pride in informing the Balamb ones about the ship's specifications. Darion had been right in calling the ship a turtle for it was in fact called the WarTurtle and according to the Estharians it was the best transport for quick military deployment by sea, being quick and sneaky.

As the students proceeded to talk about the more in-depth details of the ship, Darion decided he had heard enough and proceeded to sit on the floor next to a wall as the large area made for ground troops had no benches or chairs of any sort. From the corner of his eye he spotted Zell once more, now standing next to the rear door and happily chatting with any cadets who approached him. At this distance, Darion couldn't understand what they were saying but understood that Zell treated everyone of them as their equals, unlike Squall, Brent and probably Quistis. Thinking back to the other ships, Darion wondered what the other SeeDs were doing. Amused, he imagined Quistis drilling his group for the 100th time on every single detail of the operation, Brent shouting insults and making the cadets do pushups for even sneezing and Squall well… social as he seemed to be he would likely be sitting on a corner pretty much like Darion was doing now.

Among the crowd he spotted Linda, seemingly alone like he was. Considering what had happened in the bus, Darion decided it would be for the best to check on her once more. Freezing in the middle of the battlefield could spell death for the cadet, and Darion didn't want her death on his conscience in any way. He called her name, prompting her to turn towards him and seconds later taking the piece of floor next to him.

"Nice to see you again Darion" said the brunnete, seemingly not so nervous as before.

"Hey, how are you doing?"

"Much better, and all thanks to you." Linda now smiled joyfully despite the battle to come.

"Don't mention it." Darion dismissed the compliment "Just don't get overconfident or you'll get killed just as easily as if you froze."

"Yes sir!" the girl said in a joking tone, despite the warning being serious.

Suddenly Zell's voice cracked through the area, coming from the speakers. Tough he tried his best to sound professional, his best attempt still sounded casual friendly talk. _"Attention cadets, anyone who still has their weapon in a case or something, now it would be the time to take it out. We're getting close to Centra."_

Surely the Estharians didn't lie when they said the ships were fast as not an hour had gone by since the WarTurtles had begun moving. Darion removed the locks from his case, as Linda proceeded to remove casting enhancement gloves from her bag, meaning that she was a support caster. Unlocking the last of the four locks, he opened his case, revealing a pair of katana-class swords, identical twins. As Darion removed them from the case, Linda was startled by the blue glare coming from the blades.

"What In Hyde's name is that?"

"Magnetic powered twin swords." Darion answered in a sterile tone from having to answer that same question so many times.

"I never heard of that." Linda kept eyeing the blue steel "So I get zapped if I touch the blade?"

"As long as I don't press this button here to charge the blade, no." Darion tilted one of the swords, revealing a small button on the bottom of the hilt. "And to answer your question, much like this ship, it came from Esthar. They call these Thunder Bringers, great naming conventions they have huh?"

"Didn't you say you were from Galbadia? How did you get your hands on that?"

"It's been on the family for a long time now, before the first Sorceress war."

As two cadets, estharians judging by the accent, addressed Darion to take a closer look at the weapons, he wished he could put them back on the case once again, unhappy about attracting attention for things like that. Luckily Zell spoke through the speakers again, informing the cadets that they were arriving at Centra and that the exam had officially begun, thus they were to adopt deployment position. Immediately all chatting stopped and the cadets took their positions, including Darion. Zell, after making sure that everyone was in position, used the intercom to speak with the bridge, the captain informing him that Commander Leonhart had ordered all ships to reduce movement to the minimum, as to minimize the risk of being noticed.

Suddenly the engines stopped roaring as they had for the whole trip, giving the impression that the ship was more floating than moving forward. A period of time (that Darion knew was much shorter than the hours it seemed to him) passed until the ship came to a total halt. Darion expected to hear the captain's voice informing them that the rear door was about to open, but for a few more seconds than it would be expected, both the cadets and Zell stared at the steel door shut before them. Having enough, the overseer reached the intercom and addressed the bridge "Captain, what's going on? Why are the doors not opening?"

Silence was all that replied him.

Seemingly angrier, Zell tried again. "Captain, what the hell is going on over there?" After no reply came once again, Zell considered going to the bridge to check what happened, but instead decided to use the manual controls for the rear door as going up the stairs to the bridge would take too long, and the other cadets were likely already positioning themselves along the beach. Surely the intercom was just busted... Using his above average strength, Zell flipped the heavy handle that unlocked the door that finally opened. Moving to the edge of the ship's platform, Zell scanned the area looking for his fellow overseers or the cadets, but for his amazement there was no one on the beach, although the other three ships were also there. The ship to the right caught Zell's attention, as Squall thrust the door open, manually like Zell. Noticing his second in command, Squall showed a troubled face that Zell could notice despite the distance between them. "Is your ship's crew still alive?!" Yelled the commander.

"What?"

"Is your ship's crew-

Suddenly a whistle was heard, it seemed to go in a crescendo and the two SeeD both guessed at the same time what it was. Zell turned to the ship, his heart quickly pumping adrenaline into his system

"Get dow-

Darion never got to hear the rest of the warning as a loud bang pierced his ears like a sting. He noticed Zell rolling out of the way as a mortar struck close the where he had just been a second before., then a cloud of smoke rose and he could see nothing else. Most of the cadets were startled by the blast; rushing to the exit and shoving aside those who froze right there, but as heavy machinegun fire roared through the beach, Darion realized they just did what whoever planted the ambush had expected them to do.

And then all hell broke loose.

Three more mortar blasts rocked the beach, showering everyone with sand and rock. All order and discipline thrown to the wind as panic settled over the cadets who rushed to the exit with no strategy, clogging the exit and making themselves easy targets for the machinegun fire. The casters tried their best to casts as many protective spells as they could, but under the wail of gunfire the spells were quickly pierced, leaving the cadets vulnerable once again. When Darion finally was able to abandon the ship and touch the sand he glanced towards the jungle from where the gunfire was coming and realized it was too thick to spot any of the gunners who were likely wearing camouflage to blend with the green and brown mass before them.

Deciding to push forward with the rest of his unit, Darion suddenly stopped as another cadet in front of him was struck by a bullet, prompting Darion to rush forward and grab him before he fell to the sand. He hopefully believed maybe he could find a doctor to save his fellow cadet but upon looking at the man's face all hope vanished for his jugular was torn and gushing blood. The cadet didn't get to say any final words as he stopped breathing. Darion shoved the sudden grief aside, placed the body on the sand and, glancing at the pistol the fallen cadet held in his hand, took hold of the weapon knowing full well that his swords would be no good against an enemy he couldn't reach and that this cadet he never saw before wouldn't need the weapon anymore.

Then, Darion rushed like a madmen towards the trees. The fire rate seemed to increase as more of what could only be the corsairs joined the slaughter by emptying ammo clips on the beach in front of them and the exposed cadets in it. The mortar shells didn't cease either and Darion, upon feeling a bullet scratch his arm's skin, jumped into a crater made by a mortar shell. Crawling, he went to the safety edge of the crater and started unloading the handgun's ammo at the jungle, firing without looking as he knew well enough that exposing his head was a fast way to get headshot and killed. He knew the chances were slim but he hoped a stray bullet would somehow hit one of the ambushers, so he fired until a hand prompted him to lower the weapon. He looked to the side and noticed Lieutenant Zell Dincht was right next to him.

"Stop wasting ammo like that! You're not hitting anything!"

"Sir, we need a diversion!" Yelled Darion, struggling to be heard as another mortal rocked the beach. "We need to be able to retreat to the ships and get the hell out of here before we're all killed!"

Zell's expression suddenly grew grim. "Cadet, just look behind you."  
Darion glanced backwards and was terrified of what he saw. Already dozens of corpses littered the beach and blood stained the sand, but that was not what Zell had wanted him to see, for behind the bodies and the blood were the ships, and they were burning and collapsing under their own weight as the structure was severely damaged by mortar fire.

"There's… no way back?" Had Darion been able to see his own face, he would notice his skintone turning pale like that of a vampire. He felt scared, even terrified. Zell offered no words of comfort, already busy directing soldiers to take cover on the craters. His handgun was useless at that range and to cast a spell he needed a target, but he couldn't see any of the ambushers!

Another mortar shell struck the floor, showering Darion with the same sand and rock that already covered his hair. But this time there was something more, something red… blood. The mortar had caught some cadet -or cadets- head on, blowing them to pieces.

Darion could take it no more, knowing all too well that there wasn't a way back, the only choice was go forward. Ignoring Zell's screaming who ordered him to stay where he was, Darion jumped out of the crater towards the opening, his eyes quickly scanning the green mass before him in search for anyone who could serve as his target. He wasn't immediately threatened by gunfire as the ambushers were busy aiming at the cadets who were too slow or too unlucky to find a hiding place in time. But still he could see no one, as if the machineguns were being fired by the trees and plants. Bullets suddenly started to fly close to him as the corsairs took notice of the new target. Darion desperately raised his hand and searched for a target but he knew it was too late. He braced for the inevitable as his body was about to be torn to shreds by gunfire-

When an aura surrounded him.

Darion knew well what kind of spell that was and as the bullets hit an invisible wall, only to harmlessly fall to the ground, his feeling was proven right. He had been casted a barrier spell, but by who? Glancing backward Darion noticed another cadet he never saw, his hand raised in casting position. He was already casting a second barrier as the first had already been severely weakened by the relentless gunfire. Darion turned towards the jungle and forced his eyes to look deeper into the mass. He then saw glittering on the woods, a piece of metal that would probably belong to a rifle. His target had been found at last!

Speaking the words of power for the spell he had in mind while focusing on the piece of metal, Darion was pleased as a great fireball shot from the palm of his hand and blasted the place where he had notice the rifle. Now he could see the gunmen as he screamed in terror as the flames engulfed his body. The trees and plants were also set alight by the fireball, starting a fire that prompted some gunners to cease their firing, obviously more concerned with their safety than to keep killing.

Darion's act of courage spurred the cadets forward, seeking to follow his example and setting the jungle ablaze, greatly decreasing the threat from the machineguns and using the opening to charge forward towards the jungle and their enemies. Darion, who rushed alongside them, noticed the cadet who saved him moments before run past him, swifter and faster than Darion could ever hope to be and reaching the torched trees before anyone else, the cadet jumped higher than one would think possible and with the sheer momentum of his descent sliced a startled corsair in half with two small scythes Darion recognized as Kama blades.

Now Darion and the cadets could see their enemies clearly. The corsairs did not wear the military camouflage Darion thought of back on the beach, instead they were covered in mud and dirt, a rudimentary camouflage but nonetheless effective. As the cadets rushed towards them, rage and bloodlust in their eyes, some of the corsairs were fast enough to squeeze their triggers and fire upon their opponents at point blank range, leaving no hope for any cadet who was too slow to roll out of the way. Once the distance between the two forces was closed tough, the battle quickly changed pace as the corsairs were hopeless when facing the cadets in melee. While Darion dispatched corsair after corsair, each one more ugly than the other, he noticed how the bloodlust had taken over the minds of the cadets. No corsair who surrendered or was too weak to put up a fight met a clean death: limbs were torn from still living bodies for pure meaningless torture and even the casters who usually frowned at carnage and gore took great pleasure from immolating their enemies with fire spells until there was nothing left but ashes.

Outnumbered, outmatched and knowing that surrender would be suicide, what remained of the ambushers fled in total disorder. Immediately gunfire and spells caught many of them before they could get any serious distance and as the fastest and luckiest ones got out of range, the cadets prepared to give chase, only to be stopped by a strong and commanding voice.

"Stop!"

Darion turned around to watch as Squall walked to the front of the battleline. Much like the others, he was dirty, sweaty and had many stains of blood on his clothes, the same blood that dripped from his gunblade, indicating he had felled many foes.

"We cannot chase after them. We are injured, tired and disorganized. Chasing them back to their lair would get us all killed. We need to rest and plan our next move carefully. This exam is on hold for now. The priority now is getting everyone to safety, not extract revenge. Are we clear?"

As the words sank into the minds of the cadets, one by one the bloodlust dissipated from their faces, almost as if Squall had flipped a switch to off. Some of the youngsters dropped to the floor from sheer exhaustion while others looked around in shock over what they had done in their rage.

Darion too felt his legs begging him to lay down and his mind troubled with the fresh images of what he had partaken in. But something else has his attention as he noticed the commander was staring at him, not with admiration or amazement, but with anger and the feeling that he had something less than pleasant to say to Darion, but he would not say, for now at least…

**Writer's Comments:**

**Phew! This is one big chapter and quite fankly I'm happy about the time I took to write it. Thankfully the writting flowed quite easily or I'd have taken much longer.**

**I'm not getting more explicit about "private moments" between two characters than what I did with Squall and Rinoa this chapter, sorry people, can't go over innuendo ;)**** I wanted to show Squall's new caring and sweet personality along with Rinoa's joyful and charming attitude while showing how healthy their relationship is after 2 years. Hope you liked the end result.**

**The battle scene quite obviously draws inspiration from the Battle of Normandy and D Day. Tough I liked writting it, the story dictates that in the near future there won't be many more of these large scale, goreful battles as the action will move towards a more Final Fantasy, D&D style.**

**So far I had 1 person writting reviews (Thanks JadeAlmasy!) and tough that won't keep me from publishing more chapters (I did vow to complete it as long as I lived since I hate unfinished stories), I do wonder if only 1 person is reading my hard work. So, while I don't like begging for comments and won't do it anymore than this once, if you're out there reading this story, and even if you don't have anything to say, would you be so kind to simply speak up and say you're reading. Thanks!**

**Next chapter we'll find out how Squall and his scarred gang will rise to the challenge set by the corsairs, how the news of the disaster at Centra will strike at home, and some more bits of mystery to make you wonder, so cya on the next chapter! (no chance to get it posted next week. Will likely to have it done by the beggining of the month.)**

**Oh and to all those who may not know what a Kama is, Wikipedia is your friend. Search ****Kama_(weapon)**

**JadeAlmasy: Again, thank you so much for your kind words. Indeed Zell will have his own role in the events to come since, as you probably noticed by the small hints I gave, he and Darion are on the good old road to friendship lol. Hope you like this chapter like you liked the previous ones.**


	5. Chapter 4: All Is Connected

All Is Connected

The snowy and silent mountains of Trabia had always been the scenario for various legends and superstitions held by the local people. Some said ghosts roamed the frozen realm, hunting for adventurers stupid enough to enter their domain. They said the ghosts would drive the mortals insane with their chants and howls before consuming their souls and forcing them to join their ranks in an existence of eternal suffering. Others said ice elementals preyed on the living, seeking to freeze them and turn them to living statues to adorn their caves, while the most creative spoke of reclusive humans who disliked intruders and would kill any they found.

While none of these stories could ever be proved true, most people would rather stay away from the harsh northern region simply because most of those who would venture into the frozen mountains would never return and their fate never revealed. The land was surely not welcoming for the living for the wind always blew strong enough to throw a grown man off his feet, food was scarce and even oxygen would fail the adventurers. While the local populations were happy to inhabit the southern shores of Trabia where the climate wasn't so harsh, Trabia Garden, the first not to use a Centra mobile shelter as a foundation, had been built at the base of the mountains, perhaps as an act of defiance against the elements that had deemed the region forsaken. But still, no student or cadet was allowed into the mountains, and most were not crazy enough to try anyway.

Thus, the mountain summit was the perfect place for the Shadow King to meet his subjects.

Granted, only the black colored DJ had arrived yet. Since he could not feel the extreme cold, he didn't have to bother with warm clothing. Instead he wore his blue jeans and a plain white sleeveless shirt that showed every muscle in his athletic arms. He was already considering looking for any helpless monster to kill as a way to entertain himself, when a dark portal opened beside him and from it came Switchblade wearing her usual heavy trenchcoat. As she noticed DJ she could not hide her surprised face. "You are early."

"I came here straight away from Centra!" DJ yelled with an overjoyed tone "Did you see how well my power worked on those kids? They totally went wacko! Oh man did you see that carnage?"

Switchblade walked past the male, turning her back on him and eyeing the endless white before them. "Do you realize how cheap you are? Infusing humans with bloodlust just so you can enjoy them go crazy on each other could only amuse someone insane as you."

"Hey, at least I know how to have fun, unlike you." DJ moved closer to Switchblade. "Say Switch, maybe one of these days we should go out? I mean, those mortals, puny as they are, do know how to have some fun. How long has it been since you went into a bar?"

The blonde increased the distance between the two once more, this time turning to eye DJ "Save it, idiot. I'd rather kill you than go out with you."

"Come on Switch, don't be so boring! You could tell me about your past life, your real name"  
Before DJ could even register Switchblade moving her arm, the woman was holding an handgun aimed straight at his face.

"Speak one more time of that and I'll make you howl in pain like you cannot even imagine."

"Children… I think we are ready to start"

Both Switchblade and DJ were startled by the cold voice who spoke from behind them, even though they knew very well who he was: the Shadow King had arrived, wearing his usual black blazer and tie while looking at his two subjects with a mix of amusement and impatience. Switchblade quickly put the revolver back into her trenchcoat and bowed respectfully .DJ followed suit, tough his own bow was silent and not quite as gracious as Switch's.

"Switch, DJ, what news from Centra?"

Switchblade took the lead. "The men we bribed, weaklings as they are, are doing their job well enough. The Garden forces suffered a devastating number of causalities, but still managed to achieve victory, just as your highness requested."

"Very well." The Shadow King then turned to DJ, "And you, what did your mind reading abilities tell you?"

"The younger cadets were all fearful and scared like pigs for slaughter, not worth my time. The SeeD though were more bearable, but their minds were filled with feelings of love, friendship and care for others, disgusting I tell you!"

The Shadow King's calm face suddenly turned angry "And what can I do with that information?"

"My lord I huh…" DJ, not knowing what to answer, tried looking at Switchblade in search for support, but the blonde did not care to look his way, continuing to eye the King.

"You wasted the whole battle filling the cadets with bloodlust for your enjoyment instead of tapping into the memories of the SeeDs when they were more vulnerable to your powers! Did you think I would not feel your spellwork? Again you fail me DJ!"

"Forgive me my King!" DJ fell on his knees, ready to beg if needed. While DJ expected the Shadow King to raise his hand and cast a punishment spell on him, the monarch suddenly return to his calm voice as he seemed to notice something. "Hmm… Perhaps something useful can still come out of your incompetence. Tell me, how did Darion Melnikov react to your bloodlust spell?"

"He was unaffected my King." DJ answered without fully understanding the meaning for the question.

"Tell me more about it you vermin! The Shadow King once more returned to his angry tone.

"Huh… I was also unable to inflict bloodlust upon the SeeDs, but they're strong enough to be shielded from my mind spells, Darion though, he should be weak enough for my bloodlust spell, but I couldn't even touch the surface thoughts in his mind… He was shielded somehow…"

"Interesting… I must return to my spellwork at once." The Shadow King turned his back on Swichblade and DJ. "You two go back to Centra, you still have work to do. And DJ… do not stray from my will again."

Before DJ could answer, The Shadow King was nowhere to be seen. Surprised at how easily he had got away with his screw up, DJ got back on his feet, silently thanking his luck.

"You're asking to be thrown down below…" Switchblade said, still not glancing at DJ.

"Oh, so you do care for me eh?" Despite coming close to severe punishment, DJ quickly resumed his carefree attitude.

"I do not. I just don't wish to go through the annoyance of getting a new partner."

"I don't think I ever heard you call me partner, should I be honored?"

"Think what you want, it matters me not… Damien."

"How the heck do you know my n-"

Before DJ could finish his sentence, Switchblade also vanished into thin air.

----

"What do you mean we're not going there!!?"

Selphie's voice could be heard in the entire 3rd floor as she yelled at Cid who was sitting behind his desk, while Selphie stood right in front of him, her face angry and completely forgetting the man she was yelling at was her superior.

"Selphie, please be reasonable. We have no word from the warships, but that doesn't mean anything, Centra is a strange place for connections." Cid's tone was still professional and collected, despite the situation.

"First we hear fighting noises on the bridge, something about a female with a sword… then all the signals go cold at the same time…" Despite retaining his temper, Irvine's tone was proof enough that he was just as worried as Selphie. "Cid, I don't think we can dismiss this one as simple radio interference…"

"I know, and that's why I already talked with President Loire and requested that the Ragnarok performs a fly-by over the area to discover the situation of our team. We should be getting news any minute."

"A fly-by?!" Selphie repeated Cid's words, changing the headmaster's professional tone for her angry yelling. "The Ragnarok should come here and I'd fly it myself with every SeeD available!"

"Selphie, you know that the only SeeDs available are a few instructors and that the majority of our people is abroad and can't be called back on such a short notice. I know how you feel, but B-Garden is somewhat shorthanded for a large scale rescue mission at the moment."

"Then, assuming a rescue operation must be planned, what do we do?" Irvine questioned.

"We'll work with the Estharian military, but I'm still hopeful that none of that will be needed." Cid replied, drawing a more professional than truthful smile, the kind of smile he would give to a potential customer. Irvine knew that meant the headmaster knew the chances of the situation being just a false alarm were slim, but decided not to press the matter further.

A few minutes later, Cid's intercom came to life and his secretary's voice was heard on the other end _"Sir? President Loire is requesting to speak to you"_.

"Thank you Ana, please patch him through."

"_Hello? Cid?" _Laguna's voice replaced the secretary's. Despite his voice lacking its cheerful tone, he still sounded infomal, as he likely didn't know how to speak otherwise. To many, President Laguna Loire's easy going attitude was what made him such a good leader, and he wasn't going to change that.

"This is Cid, Mr. President. Sir, has the Ragnarok returned?" Despite the two being good friends, Cid preferred to be respectful to the president when other people were present.

"_Cid I huh… I'm afraid I don't have the best news for you. The Ragnarok pilot just reported to me and it seems the cadets were…ambushed. It's really messy out there, dozens of causalities, artillery fire… The Ragnarok would have helped, but with such urgency, it would take too much time to load the weapons, so we just sent it weapon-less." _

Everyone at the office grasped at the news and after a few seconds of silence, Cid pressed the talk button again "I…see. We need to prepare a rescue mission immediately then."

"_Cid, given the situation, I've already dispatched battleships with Estharian soldiers to Centra and we're loading the Ragnarok with defense mechanism and a medical crew to help the injured."_

"Good, so what do you need from us?" Cid inquired, glancing at the SeeDs before him as if telling them to start preparing.

"_I huh… I talked with the E-Garden headmaster and we can get there faster if we go straight from Esthar to Centra. We won't be stopping in Balamb."_

Before Cid could even reply, Selphie took over the intercom with a quick movement. "You're just gonna bench us Laguna?! That's so not like you!"

"_Selphie? I'm sorry, I know you wanna help, but it's faster this way. Look, we already sent 3 battalions to the landing zone and the Ragnarok will be carrying doctors and medical supplies, which I think it's gonna be way more useful than soldiers. I promise we'll handle the situation with all care."_

Removing the intercom from Selphie's hands, Cid was the one to answer with a defeated "Ok Mr. President, if you need anything, please talk to us, and keep us updated".

"_Sure thing, but tell me, is Rinoa there?"_

Glancing to the right side of the office, Cid saw Rinoa was indeed there, sitting on a chair and having said nothing since the first signs of trouble came in. Hearing her name, the B-Garden students counselor quickly answered. "Yes Laguna, I'm here".

"_Hey Rin, I just wanted to tell you we'll do our very best to bring our boy home ok? Him and everyone else. I have to go now. I'll call as soon as I have news."_

As the intercom beeped, meaning that Laguna had hung up, Selphie resumed her yelling, "Cid!! Why did you give up so easily?!"

"I think it was obvious that Laguna's plan was already underway" Cid calmly pointed out. "At this point, I think we just need to trust his reasoning, whatever that is…"

"I do agree with Selphie, this is nothing like Laguna." Irvine quickly pointed out, drawing a positive nod from Selphie.

"Yes, as soon as this is over I'll have to talk to him. I'm sure something else is going on here. For now, I'm recalling our ships stationed in Dollet. The dukedom hired us to patrol the trade routes from the city, but this crisis takes precedence over that. If the situation isn't resolved by the time the ships arrive, we go there ourselves and get our people back."

"How long will that take?" Rinoa questioned, getting up from her chair.

"Well… I'll have to give the Duke a heads-up, then the ships will need to return to Dollet to re-fuel… I know this won't sound good, but they should be here tomorrow morning, now as I sa-"

"Tomorrow morning!?" Selphie, again, yelled at Cid, "What are we going to do until then? Cid! How can you be so calm?"

"I have full confidence in Squall and his commanding abilities." Cid replied, starting to sound annoyed by Selphie's constant yelling.

"We don't even know if Squall's injured or-"

"Selphie!!"

Irvine's shout got Selphie's attention and the SeeD instructor immediately looked over her side to notice Rinoa, who was clearly hurt by what Selphie had almost implied, despite trying to hide it.

"No no no no!" She moved closer to Rinoa, grabbing her by the shoulders in a friendly way. "That's not what I meant Rin! I'm sure Squall's all right."

"I know Selphie, I just… Cid, I'll be in my office. Call me once you know anything ok?"

With that Rinoa quickly left the office and headed to the elevators. Selphie started to follow Rinoa but was stopped by Irvine's hand on her shoulder. "Let her go Selph."

"But Irvy! I screwed up bigtime! I gotta apologize." She replied, clearly feeling bad about her outburst.

"What you have to do is give Rinoa some time alone and calm down yourself. Common', let's leave Cid to talk to Dollet and let's eat something. After that I promise we'll start organizing our rescue team, ok?" Irvine said in a friendly tone, while placing his arm over her shoulder and leading her to the exit.

"Ok…." Selphie answered in a defeated tone as they both crossed the office door.

----

"We should never have come here… I knew it… SeeD will never recover from this…"

As the smoke begun to lift, it uncovered a gruesome display on the Centra beach. Dozens of corpses littered the sands and the adjacent jungle, blood and even body parts could be seen everywhere, injured cadets were heard screaming all over the beach as the few paramedics alive fought a desperate battle to patch as many people as they could. Those who couldn't be of any help roamed around the battlefield looking for their friends and relatives, and while some found those they were looking for still walking and breathing, many cadets had discovered only the corpses of those they were searching for. Quistis knew this was the darkest day in SeeD history, and the fact that she had heard _someone_ say the mission was a bad idea only made it worse for the senior instructor.

"We have to avenge this." Zell, standing behind the instructor, spoke in a soft tone as to avoid startling Quistis, who thought she was alone.

"What are you saying?" she replied in an angry tone. "We were almost obliterated in this beach and you want us to move forward?"

"If we go back now, the corsairs win! All of this will be for nothing, everyone who died here will be a wasted life. We need to end this, even if it's just to honor them."

"Zell… what can we do? We're shattered…" Quistis eyed the beach once again as a tear escaped from her eye.

"That's what we're gonna decide with Squall and Brent. They're already waiting for us, and we can't decide on anything without our lead instructor, right Quistis? Common!" Zell tried to sound cheerful, even though there was no cheer in his voice.

"Ok Zell… Just lead the way…"

Quistis followed Zell to the center of the beach, where some cadets were assembling a makeshift hospital with beds made with palm tree leaves and using what cloth they could find to block the sun as much as possible. Brent was in the process of transporting materials while Squall seemed to be talking to an injured cadet when they both noticed Quistis and Zell had arrived, and went to meet them.

"Quistis, are you injured?" Squall asked at once.

"Only my pride…" Quistis replied, the sadness clear in her voice.

"Any idea about what happened to the ship's crews?" Brent inquired, obviously ignoring Quistis's self-pity.

"I went into my ship's bridge before leaving it. They were all dead, cut with some sort of blade… I couldn't see who did it. It's also strange that the corsairs had mortars when the scouts said they had no firepower. But we can worry about that later." Squall answered before placing his hand on Quistis's shoulder. "No one could do any better given these circumstances. You did what you could."

"Thanks… Squall."

"This could have been much worse if it wasn't for Darion Melnikov. I mean, his plan was crazy, but he did give us the opening we needed to get out of that deathtrap." Zell noted, clearly asking for the other's opinions.

"Yes, I saw the cadet during the battle" Brent quickly nodded. "Bold and effective, exactly my type of soldier!"

"What are you saying?" Squall burst, startling Zell and Quistis, while Brent seemed completely unmoved. "Melnikov was reckless and almost cost us the whole mission!"

"Commander, I disagree." Brent defended his position. "The cadet did what we should have done, but still didn't. We could be still trapped if it wasn't for him."

"Between the moment we followed Melnikov and the moment we got to meet the corsairs face to face, we were completely exposed to gunfire, Hyde knows how many cadets that move cost us!"

"Commander, this is war! People die!" Brent's baritone voice suddenly increased in volume, as the surrounding cadets turned to watch the two SeeDs argue.

"Commander, these are just teenagers!" Squall matched Brent's volume.

"Enough!" This time it was Quistis who shouted "I came here because Zell told me we were planning a counter-attack. If arguing is all we're going to do, I'd rather be helping the cadets."

"Quistis is right people" Zell spoke. "I know we're all stressed, but we need to focus on the target. Squall, what are we gonna do?"

"Most of these cadets are too battered to fight. I say 3 of us form a team and go into the jungle. We can pick up some willing cadets but not many, we want to remain unnoticed until we reach the corsair's base. We'll discover what forces they have and report back. One of us must stay behind to look after the remaining cadets."

"Commander Leonhart and I must go, as the higher ranking members." Brent quickly added, likely fearful of mission the action. "That leaves one of you two to stay in camp."

Zell glanced at Quistis, as if asking if she would mind. Quistis answered Zell's silent question with a still sad tone. "Go ahead Zell, in any case I can manage this place better than you."

Before Zell could say anything, Brent interjected. "Great. And I have just the perfect recruit." Looking around, Brent noticed someone we was looking for and raised his powerful voice. "Lex!! Come over here! Now!"

From the cadets came a young man that Zell immediately recognized as the cadet who had saved Darion with a well timed barrier spell. Lex seemed like the most presentable person in the beach as his uniform wasn't quite as dirty as everyone else's and even his short, silver hair was tidy enough. While some might say the cadet had kept away from the fight, Zell had seen the cadet's speed and knew it was likely that none of the corsairs was able to attack him properly. As Lex got closer to the SeeDs, Zell noticed he had a slim, almost feminine body that didn't pack alot of muscle, but again, Zell knew that Lex fought with agility, not brute force."

"This is Lex Wallace." Brent informed like a proud father. "One of the top cadets of Esthar Garden. You won't find anyone who moves and kills as fast as he does. It's the one person you want to take in this kind of mission!"

"What mission sir?" Lex's serene voice inquired to Brent, although Commander Leonhart was the one who answered. "We're heading into the corsair's base with a small team. If you'd like to come with us, you're welcomed, but know this is a voluntary assignment, you don't have to follow us."

Glancing over the towering Commander Brent, Lex didn't take long to answer. "I'm honored to join you sir."

"Glad to hear that boy!" Brent patted Lex on the head, which clearly displeased Lex, who still chose to say nothing. "So, who else?"

"Squall, I know how you feel about him, but I think we should invite Melnikov." Zell said, clearly bracing himself for Squall's negative answer."

"Out of the question." Was all Squall spared to answer.

"Commander, I'll say it again. That cadet is a good fighter, he could be useful." Brent tried to convince Squall.

Are you talking about the Balamb cadet with those Thunder-Bringers?" Lex interjected, "I'd surely like to have him on the team, if my opinion matters."

"Common Squall, you're the only one against." Zell said in a quiet voice as he tried not to push the commander's buttons.

"Squall, I think you should listen to your team." Quistis added her voice to those opposing Squall's decision.

"Fine…" Squall finally said, defeated. "Zell, you go look for Melnikov and invite him… go before I regret this."

Sparing not a word, Zell ran towards the cadets and started asking for Darion.

"I just hope he declines…" Squall said under his breath

----

If such thing was possible, Darion felt more tired now than when the corsairs had fled, likely towards their base. Darion would have joined the others cadets in chasing the enemy, but the commander was right in forbidding them, there was much more important matters to attend to at the beach. He had helped move injured cadets towards the makeshift hospital, had helped in salvage what he could from the wrecked ships and had even assisted a paramedic by handing him what tools he needed to safely remove a bullet from a cadet's leg. But after a while, Darion could do no more than to find a place in the sand where he could sit and regain some of his strength. During the battle, he had noticed an airship flying over the battlefield and seemingly scanning it for some seconds before flying off. Darion kept hope that it meant help was on the way, but until now, nothing had come.

Suddenly his attention was drawn to the cries of another cadet who seemed to have just found someone he knew in the corpses who were just now being removed from the battlefield, the living remaining the obvious priority. It was a sad scene that unfortunately, Darion had seen plenty of times ever since the battle had ended, and it wasn't getting any easier to watch. Suddenly it hit him like a rock to the head that he also didn't know the fate of the only other cadet he knew in the whole beach, the girl Linda. In a single movement, Darion got up and then proceeded towards where he and Zell's group had first landed. He didn't see Linda since the battle begun, but that seemed like the obvious place to start looking. A quick lap around the area where he had fought showed no signs of anyone matching her description and Darion was about to head towards the makeshift hospital when he noticed a brunette's corpse lying against the sand, right where the beach ended and the jungle begun. Her face down and her arms stretched foward, revealing the magician's gloves she wore. Darion moved closer and proceeded to turn the corpse around, nervous like he was opening a letter indicating if he had or not been infected with an incurable disease. As he turned her around and moved the hair from her face, Darion successfully identified her as Linda, who had been shot three times in the chest.

Automatically, Darion could do no more than to turn around and puke what little food he still had in his stomach. He glanced at her once more before closing Linda's still opened eyes and letting go of her. He then turned around as a tear escaped is eyes. Suddenly, memories of past events flooded his mind, all the suffering and the pain, he felt himself dropping to his knees but did not open his eyes as another tear escaped, and another, and another… Darion felt the urge to scream, when a voice called his name.

"Darion? Are you alright man?"

Glancing over his shoulder, Darion noticed Zell behind him with a worried face. Doing his best to get up and face him, Darion quickly cleaned the tears from his face "Yes sir. Just had a sudden freak out."

Glancing at Linda's corpse, Zell quickly made the connection. "Someone you knew Melnikov? It's alright, there's no shame in crying, man".

"I met her on the bus this morning, it… it just hit me, the sadness I mean."

"It's alright Darion, just take it easy. Join the others on the hospital, I have to do something now."

After patting Darion on the shoulder in supportive manner, Zell started to turn towards the path he had come from, but Darion was quick to stop him. "Wait! Sir, did you want something from me?"

Zell turned around and offered a smile "Nevermind that cadet, just forget about it."

"No sir, tell me. I want to do what I can." Darion begged

"I came to invite you to join a team that's going on a mission to the corsair's base, but you don't have to go, it's voluntary."

"I'm going, I have to." Darion shot back with a confident tone.

"Are you sure Darion? You seem kinda shaken."

"I'll be all right. Please sir, I want to do this."

"All right Darion… we need to meet with Commander Leonhart and the others."

As Zell signaled Darion to follow, the cadet gave a long breath before he moved his tired legs forward. They would have to wait some more until they could rest, first Darion needed his revenge.

----

No one knew how the classified information always seemed to leak from the 3rd floor's office to the students, but that always seemed to happen, and the calamity at Centra was no exception. Granted, it didn't pass the rumor phase for now, but it was a fast spreading rumor. Two SeeDs were posted in front of the elevator, blocking the access to all students, and all the few classes that were still scheduled were cancelled for unknown reasons that everyone quickly associated to the exam.

Panic was certainly starting to build up within the Garden community and for the insecure students there was only one place to go when that happened: Rinoa's office in the medical ward.

"I'm sure your sister, Linda, is alright dear." Rinoa was sitting with a young female student who wouldn't stop crying. "We lost contact with the ships and they're sending people to know what happened, that's all."

"They're saying…. They're saying there was an ambush and no one survived..." the girl muttered between her sobbing

"You can't believe in all the rumors you hear in the Garden. Now, go to your dorm and get some sleep, tomorrow you'll see your sister will be home, ok?"

As the girl finally managed to stop crying he nodded positively before getting up and heading towards the door, followed by Rinoa who gave her a reassuring smile as the girl opened the door. "I heard your boyfriend's also in there… I hope he gets back safe." And the girl left, clearly unaware of how hard her friendly words had struck Rinoa.

The students counselor slowly closed the door as the words processed in her brain, "…some liar I am…" she muttered to herself as she felt the pain she was hiding take over her. In a moment of rage mixed with sadness she locked the door and went to her desk as the first tear dropped from her eyes. Her office was supposed to be the place for students to get emotional support, but right now Rinoa felt like holing up in there, the prospect of having more of those conversations when she herself was unaware of Squall's situation seemed enough to crush her.

Glancing at her table, Rinoa noticed the small postcard where Squall had written a poem for her. Rinoa picked it up, it wasn't artistic poetry to be honest, but the simple fact that he tried so hard to please her was much more important than the words themselves. She always kept it in her desk next to their picture as a reminder of how proud she was about the long way Squall had come from the lone wolf she met in that same Garden two years ago. Glancing at Squall in picture, who was doing his best to smile at the camera despite being obviously uneasy about photographs, Rinoa's mind suddenly became clear, "What are you doing Rin?" she asked herself. "What would Squall think if he knew you're skipping your job because you're worried about him and the others?" She quickly moved to the door and unlocked it as the marker on the door went from "Office Closed" to "Office Open", a sign anyone could see outside.

It didn't take long until the door rang and Rinoa asked the person outside to come in. To her surprise, it wasn't a student that came in, but Irvine Kinneas, wearing a solemn smile on his face. She got up in a hurry, "Any news?"

"Sorry Rinoa, we're still where we were when you left."

"Oh… I see." Rinoa slowly sat back at her chair.

Irvine moved to the edge of her desk. "I wanted to apologize for Selphie, you know how worked up she gets in these situations. She goes nuts if she doesn't do anything about it."

"I know Irvine, I don't blame her, I'm just like that, only… not so vocal about it."

Rinoa's words made Irvine chuckle slightly "No one is as vocal as Selphie about anything."

Despite the joke, Rinoa did not laugh, instead she kept looking at her desk, which made Irvine change his approach. "Rin, what are you thinking?"

"Right now?" She said, despite not looking at him. "stealing a boat and go to Centra…".

"Now, you know that would be foolish right?"

"I know Irvine, it's just-"

"You fear for Squall." Irvine cut her sentence. "It's normal Rin, but remember, Squall's the best fighter there is, if anyone can pull that off, it's him. Those corsairs will be a breeze!"

After a few seconds of processing, Rinoa finally raised her head and nodded at Irvine, "I guess you're right. Thanks."

"Don't mention it girl. Now, why don't you let me put a sign on that door saying you're not here so you can take a nap?"

"No, don't do that. Those kids need help and I have a job to do." Rinoa replied, this time with a more confident tone.

"See? That's why Squall can't get enough to you. You're just as stubborn as he is. Ok, so I'll check if Selphie isn't in the process of killing anyone for saying a wrong word. You take it easy ok? I'll see ya as soon as we get news."

With that Irvine left and soon enough a student came in with the same long face Rinoa was so used to see coming into her office. Inhaling deeply, Rinoa put on her warmest smile and invited the student to sit down.

----

Zell felt much more positive about the team they'd put together then he was about the 200 cadets marching on Centra. Squall needed no introduction as a gunblade expert and master tactician while Brent, despite being somewhat hot headed, was still a force to contend with. He had seen the Estharian using a huge mace to crush dozens of corsairs and knew right away that Brent was one of the few people Zell would find more than a match to himself. Joining the SeeDs were Lex Wallace who moved fast and deadly, a great addition to any stealth mission, as Brent had pointed out, and Darion Melnikov who had proved himself brave, strong and smart in equal measures earning a lot of respect from Zell over the course of the mission.

But still, Zell could not help but notice how Squall would not cut Darion any slack. The commander didn't speak much ever since they left the beach an hour before, but Darion was the only one he didn't spend a word on. Zell had noticed the commander glancing at the cadet on occasion, but nothing more than that. Still, as much as Zell felt he should talk to Squall about it, he figured it was not the time or the place, so he just went along with the team.

For his part, Darion, despite still feeling the sadness over the loss of his newfound friend, felt better just for being on a mission. He had been glad to thank the person who had saved him hours ago when he met Lex, and the two had got along nicely despite only exchanging a few words before heading into the jungle. Like Zell, he was happy about joining such a great team, tough he also remembered Commander Leonhart's threatening stare when the battle ended, and knew that sooner or later, the two would have a not so happy conversation. For now tough, everyone had to remain silent and either way, the commander seemed to be happy to keep his mouth shut.

"Stop." Brent quietly said, trying to keep the volume of his baritone voice to the minimum. "There's people moving ahead."

"How do you know?" Squall whispered, glancing at the other commander for a second before turning back to the jungle trees ahead in search for whatever Brent had noticed before him.

"I have above average hearing, people are moving ahead." Brent answered.

"Are you sure it's not animals?" Zell asked, keeping his voice down as well.

"Too noisy for animals. Humans no doubt." Brent quickly pointed, glancing above his shoulder to Zell for a second.

"Hide behind the trees then, we'll ambush them when they pass." Squall instructed, drawing his gunblade as he did.

The whole squad quickly followed Squall's command as everyone found his hiding spot. Darion ended up hidden between a tree and a tall bush with Zell and while he could not see anyone else, he was sure they were nearby. Darion thought for a second about what kind of hiding place did Brent use to cover his massive body, but knew there was no safe way to find out. Instead, he concentrated on hearing the footsteps the E-Garden commander had talked about. Sure enough, now he could hear footsteps and quite a few actually, this was not a lone guard, but a squad of men.

Suddenly tough, the footsteps stopped. The men, whoever they were, weren't moving anymore. Darion kept trying to listen for a few minutes but still no footsteps were heard. He tried to spot Brent once more, if anyone could hear anything, it would be him and his "above average hearing", but still the Estharian was nowhere to be found. Darion decided to try carefully peeking outside his hiding spot to see if he could spot their targets. He had expected that whoever passed through there had already left, but as Darion looked over the bush, he noticed a bearded corsair holding a rifle, and behind him, many more gunmen. Darion immediately tried to move back to cover and signal Zell but before he could, the corsair also took notice of his presence, clearly expecting company and being alert for intruders in that area. "There! Intruders!" The filthy man scram as he fired a burst towards Darion, who felt Zell's hands quickly pulling him back to cover as the bullets crossed the place he occupied a split second before. More rifle fire followed as the other gunmen started shooting at random towards the jungle, clearly intending to draw the intruders out of their hiding places.

Darion was feeling the weight of the world on his shoulders as the bullets flew by. He had jeopardized the mission and had no excuse. He knew he had screwed up, big time. Intending to take care of the mess he had started no matter what, Darion boldly drew the handgun he had obtained at the battle and jumped out of his hiding place, firing a well placed shot while midair that got the first corsair in the midsection, immediately making him drop to the foor. Darion then proceeded to burst into a firing craze, firing without much concern for aim as rage took over him. He managed to hit another corsair in the arm but as the gun fired the last bullet in the magazine, Darion decided to switch to his swords when something hit his head from the side. Darion could not see his attackers, but could only imagine that the corsairs had flanked them and their comrades were now fighting for their lives. As the cadet lost conscience, he could only think that he had failed everyone…

**Author's Comments:**

**Sooooo, fourth chapter is up alittle later than usual but it could not be helped as I've been doing exams this past weeks. Anyway, this chapter is more like 4 mini chapters and the reason for that is that I found myself with alot of plot points I wanted to develop before having more important plot points, so I decided I'd adress them all on one big chapter before going back in force to the main theater that is obviously the Centra mission. That said, I guess this isn't the most plot revealing chapter, but it still remains a step I had to take for everything to make sense later on.**

**Yes, the Ragnarok is now in the hands of the Estharians. I'll adress that in the future but just let me say that when it comes to state property, finders aren't exactly keepers...**

**I hope I didn't trick anyone into thinking Linda would play any prominent role later on. Her death will trigger some events later but that's about it.**

**I know people said they were looking foward to the Darion-Squall conversation and while that didn't happen here as you noticed, I have to say that it WILL happen, and it'll bw much more than you're expecting... I think it could happen next chapter if I decide to make it big, a likely event lol.**

**Anyway, thanks alot for the reviews! It was great reading you people and know you're enjoying. I really hope this new chapter pleases you and please, keep telling me what you think :)**

**freestyler91: Did you get the small nod I gave you about Squall's poetic capabilities? Don't take it the wrong way, it was merely a small joke lol. Anyway, that part was actually drawn from personal experience. I didn't know I could write a poem until I actually sat down and tried. I'm a firm believer that we all have hidden skills, maybe Squall is a good writer? Still, I'm gonna take what you said in consideration in the future. Thank you so much for your kind words tough. I hope you keep enjoying the story and this new chapter in particular.**

**JadeAlmasy: Again, thank you so much for your kind words. It's great that you loved last chapter and I hope it's not a big letdown that the Darion-Squall conversation didn't happen. As I said, it will lol. I hope you like this chapters as you've been enjoying the previous ones.**

**Ash Phoenix: Thank you so much, it feels great to have people call this a great story when everything is still getting off the ground. Again, I hope it's not too big a letdown that the Darion-Squall conversation didn't happen. But it will :) I hope you enjoy this chapter and the rest of the plot.**


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